Treaties, Truth and Justice

Treaties, Truth and Justice

Australia always was and always will be Aboriginal Land. Yet Australia is the only Commonwealth country without a treaty with its First Peoples.

A treaties process has now begun in Victoria. The Greens will amplify the voices of Elders and the grassroots community to ensure the process reflects true self-determination and delivers much-needed justice, rights and healing to Aboriginal people. For nearly two hundred years, the injustice of stolen land and the devastation of the invasion and colonisation have marred Victoria without any fundamental attempt to set it right.

Under the leadership of Gunnai-Gunditjmarawoman Lidia Thorpe MP, the Greens have been leading calls for true self-determination, rights and cultural respect in the treaty process. We will continue to work with Elders and grassroots communities to ensure their voices are amplified, and people on the ground benefit from the treaty process.

To ensure the treaty process provides justice to the First Peoples of Victoria, the Greens will:

Amend the treaty legislation to ensure it recognises the sovereignty of the Clans and First Nations over this land.

Fight for true self-determination, cultural respect and justice in all processes, representative bodies, and in establishing the Treaty Negotiating Framework.

Amend the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities to specify a new principle that recognises the right to self-determination for Aboriginal people of Victoria, to help strengthen the process.

Advocate for and support Clans and Nations to be at the heart of the treaty process, including sitting on the Aboriginal Representative Body. We will provide $25 million over the next four years for the operation of the body and for it to carry out wide consultation on the treaty framework.

Introduce a moratorium on sale of surplus Crown Land and Government Owned Freehold land for private sale, so that this land is available for treaty negotiations.

Provide $5 million over the next four years to ensure the Elders Council is properly established, recognised in the legislation, and carries out its critical role of cultural oversight of the process.

Provide $40 million to establish a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to finally allow Aboriginal people to reveal the full truth about their history.

Provide $3 million to establish the Truth Telling Museum, a black political history Museum in Fitzroy.

Provide $5 million for cultural identity mapping to enable clan genealogy to be fully traced.

Together, these actions will ensure the treaty truly delivers peace, justice and healing for the First Peoples of this land.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this country as the first inhabitants, and the custodians of the lands where we live and work. We pay tribute to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and give respect to Elders past, present and emerging.